REFLECT
It’s Not All Supposed to Suck: Fighting Operational Friction
(Matthias Fruth/Army, 2019) By James Boyd I remember doing my first inventory preparing for deployment. It was 2008, the first iPhone had just been released, and I was new to a Special Forces Team. I spent days sifting through reams of paper filled...
Overcoming Barriers to Innovation: Taking Lessons Learned from Ukraine
by Andrew DeMoss and Luke VanAntwerp Over a century ago, on the European battlefields of World War I, new technologies in the form of machine guns and massed artillery forced armies into trenches. Leaders turned to other new technologies such as...
Bigger Sibling’s Advice for Post-Platoon Leader Life
As I prepared to move across the hallway and take over as our company’s Executive Officer (“XO”), I was sick-to-my-stomach nervous. Sure, I had been reasonably successful as a Platoon Leader, but what on earth did I know about running a company? It...
Do You Only Have Chauffeur Knowledge? Here’s How to Gain Expertise
by John Geracitano Famed physicist Max Planck gave countless speeches on his research in the company of his trusty chauffeur, who listened to each one. They once switched roles for fun, and the chauffeur gave Planck’s speech without fault. But when...
Behind the Camera: The Purpose of Unit Public Affairs
By Haylee Gagnon Taking the job as the Unit Public Affairs Officer (PAO) and Battalion Adjutant is not what every Infantry Officer prepares for. Trading in my ruck for a camera was terrifying for the simple fact that I wouldn’t be doing what...
SITREPs to Startups: Initial Lessons Post-Transition
By Christina Plumley In January, I left Active Duty after 10 years in the Army. Like many transitioning junior officers, I intended to use the GI Bill for graduate school. I leveraged a variety of veteran transition programs, made plans and...
Hygiene for Leaders: Beyond Soap and Water
(Kim Ki Sam/Stars and Stripes) By Jamison Geracci and Jon Ayers Many servicemembers know that during their military separation process, they should get checked to see if they suffer from sleep apnea. The benefits of this are twofold. First, the...
Professional Military Education is PT for the Brain
by Chris Johnson “The nation that will insist on drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by cowards and its thinking done by fools.” – Lt. Gen. Sir William Francis...
Confessions of a Fixed-Mindset Leader
By Brandon Frei “I have not failed once… When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” -Thomas Edison The Army I grew up in was full of leaders who were rewarded for accomplishing the...
The Most Thoughtful Way to Gift a Book in the Military
On an upcoming episode of the From the Green Notebook Podcast, Joe asks former SEAL and best-selling author Jack Carr about what book played a large role in influencing him as a leader during his time in uniform. Jack shared that Once an Eagle by...
The Genius of Sherlock Holmes
by Paul W. Smith Admittedly, I am probably late regarding my admiration of this particular subject, but thanks to the glory of my DVR I have been reintroduced to the show Elementary, a modern take on the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Joan...
Don’t Read This, Just Go To Bed
by Chris Murray In 2015, as a young Infantry lieutenant, I found myself once again in a crowded, overheated battalion conference room. I was attending what seemed to be the hundredth staff meeting since I had arrived at the unit two months earlier...
Mentoring Through Setbacks
By Michael Quigley Mentorship is about empowering and building a future generation of leaders; to do that leaders should share the reality of their careers, including examples of personal setbacks. In a recent meeting with a mentor, we used the...
Don’t Look the Part, Be the Part
by Oren Abusch In the early spring of 2020, my Battalion ran a two-week marksmanship course. Each day, NCOs would go to the range to hone their shooting skills and, on one particular range day, I noticed an NCO kitted in the most expensive...
Information Quality’s Outsized Effect on Decision-Making
by Jack Hadley and Addison McLamb We all know bad decisions when we see them. For example, the commander who can’t ‘decide’ to stop talking at Friday formation, the NCO so entrenched in his ways he can’t accept the simple solution in front of his...
Opportunities and Applications for Executive Coaching in the Army
by BG Brett Funck It’s likely “coach, teach, and mentor” is a familiar phrase for those in the Army. However, understanding and differentiating the three items is less familiar. The Army is growing its exposure to executive coaching and...
Blind Intent and Vision-Impaired Guidance
By Joel P. Gleason Road Trips & Staff Meetings My wife and I have spent 20 years having the same discussion on road trips. As dinner approaches and the kids get hungry, we agree that we should stop at a restaurant but, as we drive past...
The Cornerstone of Our Profession
By Marc Meybaum As we raise our right hand, our oath is expected to be, and must be, an honest commitment to serve. Honesty is called forth in the very first act of every military service member in our modern volunteer force. It is our first act of...
Two Steps to Being a Good Teammate
by Tom Dull Unique to the military profession is that, upon entrance, the servicemember is instantly accepted and considered part of the team. Whether a scout team, infantry company, or brigade staff, soldiers are always a member of a team (and...
Enduring
by Hannah Wentland For a long time I have struggled to write or even share my thoughts. The first notion inhibiting me is always, “Who am I to write something worth knowing?” I fear I lack the credibility to sit at the table and champion my voice:...
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Making Good Decisions on Time
by Gary McDonald and Ron Sprang It is D-Day, June 6 1944, Dog Green Sector, Omaha Beach, the waves crash against the beach. Countless Higgins boats race to the shore to deliver the first wave of young warriors to the fight. “Clear the ramp, 30...
The Field Grade Leader and Domestic Operations: A Primer
by Rick Chersicla ...
Leading at the Crossroads of Experience and Personality
by Kyle Trottier and William Branch Upon being selected to serve as the BCT Executive Officer (XO) and BCT Operations Officer (S3), William Branch and I held a series of sensing sessions with each Battalion Commander and Battalion Command Sergeant...
A Tale of Two Majors: A Simple Way to Seek Shared Understanding
by Tom Dull and Matthew Schardt It is the middle of the night and the Brigade is on schedule to uncoil and maneuver into the vast training area of the National Training Center (NTC) in just a few hours. Two Army Field Grades, Majors, are conducting...
Once an Expert, Forever an Expert? A Case for Army Expert Badge Holder Recertification
by Andrew J. Papathanasiou No one who has earned one of the Army’s coveted expert badges (EIB, ESB, & EFMB) wants to ever have to relive that week of mental stress again. But should they have to? Our immediate response, mine included,...
A Unifying Foundation: Military Community and the Oath of Office
by Tom Dull The military community stands apart from others due to its emphasis on inclusion and acceptance. While small in population, the military community is highly efficient and effective in operation; its ability to find common ground to...
Who Cares if Soldiers Look Fat? Reimagining the Army’s Body Composition Program
by Brennan Deveraux & Katie Haapala For the past few years, the Army has prioritized a holistic approach to health and fitness, epitomized by the service’s overhaul of its physical fitness test. However, the Army’s establishment of its new...
Getting the Word Out: 10 Ways to Bolster Your Unit’s PAO and Make Your Unit Better
by Kevin Sandell Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series focused on improving your unit’s communication efforts through your Public Affairs Office. The second part of this series will be published later this spring....
Leader Development in the National Guard: Overcoming Obstacles and Intentionally Developing Others
by Jakob Hutter Our world is diverse and ever changing. As such, organizational leaders must be able to effectively deal with changes that can influence the organization’s current systems and processes. For the Army, developing leaders involves a...
Heading to a Joint Assignment? Complete Phase II of Joint Professional Military Education (JPME)
by Thang Q. Tran It is an exciting time of the year as Assignment Officers and Detailers notify individuals of their upcoming assignments. A select group of field grade officers from across the Department of Defense will get assigned to a position...
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